Armenia (2001) | Sri Lanka (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 provinces (marzer, singular - marz) and 1 city* (k'aghak'ner, singular - k'aghak'); Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Geghark'unik', Kotayk', Lorri, Shirak, Syunik', Tavush, Vayots' Dzor, Yerevan* | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western; note - North Eastern province may have been divided in two - Northern and Eastern |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
23.23% (male 394,194; female 380,911) 15-64 years: 67.04% (male 1,094,646; female 1,141,760) 65 years and over: 9.73% (male 135,477; female 189,112) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 24.5% (male 2,508,384/female 2,397,986)
15-64 years: 68.4% (male 6,658,765/female 7,059,468) 65 years and over: 7.2% (male 670,813/female 769,360) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruit (especially grapes), vegetables; livestock | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef |
Airports | 7 (2000 est.) | 14 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 13
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
7 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
29,800 sq km land: 28,400 sq km water: 1,400 sq km |
total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maryland | slightly larger than West Virginia |
Background | An Orthodox Christian country, Armenia was incorporated into Russia in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated exclave, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the exclave in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution. | The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam formalized a cease-fire in February 2002, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. |
Birth rate | 11.47 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.63 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$360 million expenditures: $566 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $3.34 billion
expenditures: $4.686 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Yerevan | Colombo; note - Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital |
Climate | highland continental, hot summers, cold winters | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,340 km |
Constitution | adopted by nationwide referendum 5 July 1995 | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978; new constitution proposed in 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Armenia conventional short form: Armenia local long form: Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun local short form: Hayastan former: Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic; Armenian Republic |
conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka former: Serendib, Ceylon |
Currency | dram (AMD) | - |
Death rate | 9.74 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $836 million (January 2001) | $10.85 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael C. LEMMON embassy: 18 Marshal Bagramian Avenue, Yerevan mailing address: American Embassy Yerevan, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7020 telephone: [374] (2) 52-16-11 FAX: [374] (2) 151-550 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey J. LUNSTEAD
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 244-8007 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Arman KIRAKOSIAN chancery: 2225 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1976 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2982 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard GOONETILLEKE
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | Armenia supports ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan in the longstanding, separatist conflict against the Azerbaijani Government; traditional demands regarding former Armenian lands in Turkey have subsided | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $245.5 million (1995) | $577 million (1998) |
Economy - overview | Under the old Soviet central planning system, Armenia had developed a modern industrial sector, supplying machine tools, textiles, and other manufactured goods to sister republics in exchange for raw materials and energy. Since the implosion of the USSR in December 1991, Armenia has switched to small-scale agriculture away from the large agroindustrial complexes of the Soviet era. The agricultural sector has long-term needs for more investment and updated technology. The privatization of industry has been at a slower pace, but has been given renewed emphasis by the current administration. Armenia is a food importer, and its mineral deposits (gold, bauxite) are small. The ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan over the ethnic Armenian-dominated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the breakup of the centrally directed economic system of the former Soviet Union contributed to a severe economic decline in the early 1990s. By 1994, however, the Armenian Government had launched an ambitious IMF-sponsored economic program that has resulted in positive growth rates in 1995-2000. Armenia also managed to slash inflation and to privatize most small- and medium-sized enterprises. The chronic energy shortages Armenia suffered in recent years have been largely offset by the energy supplied by one of its nuclear power plants at Metsamor. Armenia's severe trade imbalance, importing three times its exports, has been offset somewhat by international aid, domestic restructuring of the economy, and foreign direct investment. | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and to 5.2% in both 2003 and 2004. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.201 billion kWh (1999) | 6.228 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 6.668 billion kWh (1999) | 6.697 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
45.56% hydro: 23.25% nuclear: 31.19% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Debed River 400 m highest point: Aragats Lerr 4,095 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
Environment - current issues | soil pollution from toxic chemicals such as DDT; energy blockade, the result of conflict with Azerbaijan, has led to deforestation when citizens scavenged for firewood; pollution of Hrazdan (Razdan) and Aras Rivers; the draining of Sevana Lich (Lake Sevan), a result of its use as a source for hydropower, threatens drinking water supplies; restart of Metsamor nuclear power plant without adequate (IAEA-recommended) safety and backup systems | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Armenian 93%, Azeri 3%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 2% (1989)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from Armenia |
Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Exchange rates | drams per US dollar - 554.29 (1 February 2001), 539.53 (2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998), 490.85 (1997), 414.04 (1996) | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001), 77.005 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Robert KOCHARIAN (since 30 March 1998) head of government: Prime Minister Andranik MARKARYAN (since 12 May 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; special election last held 30 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Robert KOCHARIAN elected president; percent of vote - Robert KOCHARIAN 59.5%, Karen DEMIRCHYAN 40.5% |
chief of state: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 6 April 2004) is the prime minister; the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA (since 12 November 1994); note - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE is the prime minister (since 6 April 2004); the president is considered both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 21 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2005) election results: Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA reelected president; percent of vote - Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA 51%, Ranil WICKREMASINGHE 42%, other 7% |
Exports | $284 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, scrap metal, machinery and equipment, brandy, copper ore | textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products; rubber manufactures, fish |
Exports - partners | Belgium 36%, Iran 15%, Russia 14%, US 7%, Turkmenistan, Georgia (1999) | US 32.4%, UK 13.5%, India 6.8%, Germany 4.8% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, and orange | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 25% services: 35% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 19.1%
industry: 26.2% services: 54.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 5.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 40 00 N, 45 00 E | 7 00 N, 81 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes |
Highways | total:
8,431 km () paved: NA unpaved: NA (1997) |
total: 11,650 km
paved: 11,068 km unpaved: 582 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | illicit cultivator of cannabis mostly for domestic consumption; increasingly used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs - mostly opium and hashish - to Western Europe and the US via Iran, Central Asia, and Russia | - |
Imports | $913 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, diamonds | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | Russia 17%, US 11%, Belgium 11%, Iran 10%, UK, Turkey (1999) | India 18%, Singapore 8.7%, Hong Kong 7.7%, China 5.7%, Iran 5.2%, Japan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 21 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 4 February 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 7.1% (2004 est.) |
Industries | metal-cutting machine tools, forging-pressing machines, electric motors, tires, knitted wear, hosiery, shoes, silk fabric, chemicals, trucks, instruments, microelectronics, gem cutting, jewelry manufacturing, software development, brandy | rubber processing, tea, coconuts, and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, and banking; clothing, cement, petroleum refining, textiles, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 41.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.57 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (1999 est.) | 5.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | BSEC, CCC, CE, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (1999) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,870 sq km (1993 est.) | 6,510 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 1.5 million (1999) | 7.26 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 55%, services 25%, industry 20% (1999 est.) | agriculture 38%, industry 17%, services 45% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,254 km border countries: Azerbaijan-proper 566 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 221 km, Georgia 164 km, Iran 35 km, Turkey 268 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
17% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 15% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.86%
permanent crops: 15.7% other: 70.44% (2001) |
Languages | Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Legal system | based on civil law system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (Parliament) or Azgayin Zhoghov (131 seats; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 May 1999 (next to be held in the spring of 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - unity bloc 61 (Republican Party 41, People's Party of Armenia 20), Stability Group (independent Armenian deputies who have formed a bloc) 21, ACP 10, ARF (Dashnak) 8, Law and Unity Party 7, NDU 6, Law-Governed Party 6, independents 10, unfilled 2; note - seats by party change frequently |
unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP 105, UNP 82, TNA 22, JHU 9, SLMC 5, UPF 1, EPDP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
66.49 years male: 62.12 years female: 71.08 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.17 years
male: 70.6 years female: 75.86 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 98% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India |
Map references | Commonwealth of Independent States | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 120,924 GRT/173,604 DWT
by type: cargo 18, container 2, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 10) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Air Force and Air Defense Aviation, Air Defense Force, Security Forces (internal and border troops) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $75 million (FY99) | $514.8 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4% (FY99) | 2.6% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
905,154 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
715,734 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
34,998 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 21 September (1991) | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) |
Nationality | noun:
Armenian(s) adjective: Armenian |
noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
Natural hazards | occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
Natural resources | small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, alumina | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -3.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 900 km (1991) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Armenia Party [Myasnik ALKHASYAN]; Armenian Communist Party or ACP [Vladimir DARBINYAN]; Armenian Revolutionary Federation ("Dashnak" Party) or ARF [Hrant MARKARYAN]; Christian Democratic Union or CDU [Azat ARSHAKYN, chairman]; Democratic Liberal Party [Ramkavar AZATAKAN, chairman]; Free Armenian's Mission [Ruben MNATSANIAN, chairman]; Law and Unity Party [Artashes GEGAMIAN, chairman]; Law-Governed Party [Artur BAGDASARIAN, chairman]; Mission Party [Artush PAPOIAN, chairman]; National Democratic Union or NDU [Vazgen MANUKIAN]; National State Party [Samvel SHAGINIAN]; Pan-Armenian National Movement or PANM [Vano SIRADEGHYAN]; People's Party of Armenia [Stepan DEMIRCHYAN]; Republican Party or RPA [Andranik MARKARYAN]; Shamiram Women's Movement or SWM [Gayane SARUKHYAN]; Social Democratic (Hnchakian) Party [Ernst SOGOMONYAN]; Stability Group [Vartan AYVAZIAN, chairman]; Union of National Self-Determination or NSDU [Paruir HAIRIKIAN, chairman]; Unity Bloc [Stepan DEMIRCHIAN and Andranik MARKARYAN] (a coalition of the Republican Party and People's Party of Armenia) | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Tilvan SILVA]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [leader NA]; Sihala Urumaya or SU [leader NA]; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups |
Population | 3,336,100 (July 2001 est.) | 20,064,776
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (1999 est.) | 22% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.21% (2001 est.) | 0.79% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Colombo, Galle |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 6, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 850,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
852 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines broad gauge: 852 km 1.520-m gauge (779 km electrified) (2001) |
total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Armenian Orthodox 94% | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
system inadequate; now 90% privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion domestic: the majority of subscribers and the most modern equipment are in Yerevan (this includes paging and mobile cellular service) international: Yerevan is connected to the Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional international service is available by microwave radio relay and landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and through the Moscow international switch and by satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat |
general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999)
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low at 2.6 main lines per 100 persons (1999) international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 568,000 (1997) | 881,400 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,220 (1997) | 931,600 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1998) | 21 (1997) |
Terrain | Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River valley | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior |
Total fertility rate | 1.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.85 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (1998 est.)
note: official rate is 9.3% for 1998 |
7.8% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | NA km | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2004) |